True or False - The Stock Market is a Scam

[graham4anything]

40. No.

And the title says SCAM.

a lottery is not a scam, and a good number of states use the money for education anyhow.
So the title of the thread states SCAM.

it's not a scam.

and it is open to most everyone, and most union people have benefits that are directly tied to the market.

Bernie Madoff's only problem was that he couldn't pay out. Had he kept paying out, no one would have complained. He was a fraud. But he is NOT the typical.So he is a bad example.

What gets people broke is not being realistic and not investing smartly, or in things that will go obsolete

For example-
in Queens (Rego Park) NYC-decades ago, Macy's and others wanted to build their Queens BLVD. outlet and bought up the entire blocks it was going to be on.

One lady, very old, said NO she won't move.
So they kept offering.

They built around her and made an odd shaped round building, with the weirdest and narrowest parking lot in the world.

She lost millions.
AFter she died it was sold, but Macy's no longer needed the land.

I myself don't play the market so I didn't lose when it went down, nor did I gain now.

And houses that used to be $100,000 and went up to $500,000 and now are back to $200000
never were worth $500million.
So that was unrealistic to think it would always go up.